Recently I read an article on Lifehacker describing the Top 10 Easy Ways to Look Sharp – and promptly noticed a few protests that it was mostly male orientated!
I agreed and decided to create a fresh new list of ferociously sharp tips for ladies to look stylish. These are hacks as well as a few great tips that will let you sail through every day. Every time I’m faced with 5 minutes extra time to snooze I’ll take it, so you can trust these ideas have been carefully tested. Let’s get started with the first 5!
1. THE EYES HAVE IT COVERED
Get a pair of sunglasses that suit your face and wear them religiously. The reason for this is twofold. First, glasses give you the aura of being a suave, cool person who can accessorize. The second function of sunnies is to protect your eyes. More glasses wearing means less Shar-Pei-esque wrinkles in the future = and less squinting now. Squinting is never sexy.
Chloe Myrte acrylic sunglasses
Your sunglasses can be either classic (think faux tortoise-shell, over sized frames) or cheeky (think lolly coloured wayfarers). Bigger will protect the skin around your eyes more but cheeky, is well, fun! Some eye protection is better than none so you’re okay, whatever your choice. If you need advice or inspiration, wander over to Eye Heart Glasses and look at Jo’s expert picks.
Ray Ban pink wayfarers
2. A TOUCH OF GLOSS
Vaseline is the wonder balm, seriously – first up, use it on lips for shine if you have no time for lipstick. I always seem to wake up with scraggly askew eyebrows after a night’s sleep; use it to tame your wayward eyebrows before you dash out the door!
In a pinch, a tiny slick of Vaseline applied to your eyelashes will give them a shiny waterproofed, lengthened look. You can also use it to micromanage out-of-control hair when styling; a tiny dab works well to tame fly-aways!
3. HEADBANDS FOR THE WIN
I will say straight up that headbands don’t have to make you look like a little girl. They come in a wide variety – skinny brushed silver, wide black patent leather or sweet fabric ones – as seen here on Brigitte Bardot.
Alice bands in particular are your saving grace for days when your hair just isn’t behaving and you need to look swish in seconds.
Alice Bands
I simply brush my hair back and up towards my crown, give it a once over with hairspray and sweep the headband on. After that, another spritz of hairspray will keep it all in place. Perfecto, for the rest of the day! You can also use this as an up-do, putting your hair in a high pony before putting on the band.
4. JANE AND THE GIANT BAG
An over-sized bag is an essential wardrobe foundation for those who favour laissez-faire personal style but still want to look sharp. This may come in a) leather – or a damn good fake for those of you not on board the leather train, but be aware pleather does not age well. Or b) canvas. Your bag should be one of the following colours – navy, ivory, brown (preferably chestnut) or black. If you are rocking the canvas you can venture towards brighter colour palettes like eggplant or cherry.
Serena tote and Kiah bag - both from Country Road
The bigger the better! Why? Because you can obviously fit more guff in: your DSLR, the book you’re reading, tissues and your 570 plastic cards. This doesn’t have to be an everyday tote but it’s brilliant to have something that will do in a pinch that you can just dump stuff into. It also does the double duty of making you look tiny in comparison – the big bag theory. This is an illusion that really works – hurrah!
5. FAST WITH A SCARF
Scarves are your saving grace on a day with not enough time to get ready. You probably have a large fashion imagination but just not that much time – so chuck on that boring black tee you’ve already worn this week, wear your usual denim if you have to, and put on a scarf… voila! French blogger Betty, from Le Blog De Betty, is an inspiration when it comes to rocking a variety of pretty scarves.
Indeed, I have an extensive collection of scarves (am currently wearing black linen shorts, a black t-shirt and an eye-popping coral scarf) that save me time and time again. They give you an instant splash of colour, added textural interest and a practical disguise for that occasional coffee stain. Easy.
Right, there you have it lovelies, the first five tips to streamline your style! Let me know how these go and if you have any life-saving tips please share them in the comments. It’s the goal for all girls really, maximum sharpness in style, minimum effort – more time for fun.
Please step this way for Ten Easy Ways For Women To Look Sharp – Part 2 – the next 5 brilliant tips.
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Amen! Fantastic tips. I usually try to put on clear nail polish. I feel like it makes me look more ‘pulled together’ … and you can’t tell if it’s chipped! :D
This is a really brilliant post, thanks for this! I’ll definitely be able to make good use of these tips!
I also wanted to add that often having a mini “essentials” bag is great way to save time if you like changing bags often.
Simply swap out the mini bag into the different bags for different occasions. I had always read this tip but it wasn’t till I actually tried it that I was smitten. Beach tote – no probs! Bag for a day of shopping – easy! No more forgetting lip balm or keys, the two banes of my life.
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